Last week we showed how we painted our cabinets. Today we’re sharing how we organized the whole kitchen. Compared to our last house, this kitchen has about a quarter of the previous storage and countertop space. At first we worried we’d miss the extra room, but it’s worked out really well. We can store everything we use regularly, and items are easy to reach—no digging through stacks to find what we need. If you’re curious about downsizing your kitchen or just enjoy peeking at other people’s storage solutions, this post will be useful.
Our old kitchen felt huge by comparison. It had a ten-foot island with storage on three sides and cabinets around all four walls—if I recall correctly it had 36 cabinet doors and 15 drawers. The new kitchen has just 7 cabinet doors and 5 drawers (the two under the sink in both kitchens were false). So it’s roughly 51 pieces of storage before versus 12 now, and many of the current cabinets and drawers are shallower. We’ll show you the trickier spots and how we made them work.
To be fair, our old kitchen had more capacity than we really needed. Neither of us cooks elaborate meals often, so we kept a pretty streamlined selection of tools and appliances. We even stored non-kitchen items there—tools, backpacks, extra accessories, and seasonal decor. If you want to see how we organized that space, check out our old kitchen organization.
We prepared by paring down before the move, but we still needed to be strategic once we arrived. With careful organization, everything we use daily has a place. Some readers will ask where big appliances live—stand mixers, crockpots, blenders, espresso machines. We haven’t owned many of those for years; others that were seldom used, like our crockpot, were donated. Downsizing is about honestly assessing what you actually use and keeping those items accessible.
A big help was adding two shelving units next to the fridge. We moved them from our old office and they immediately added eight large drawers plus open shelving for plates, glasses, mugs, bowls and some decorative pieces. The four left drawers serve as our pantry—that’s where we store most dry goods and snacks. The four drawers on the right mostly hold tools and household items, a habit we’ve carried over from our last kitchen. If we ever need more kitchen storage, those tool drawers could be relocated to built-ins we plan to add in another room.
Besides those shelving systems and the floating shelves we installed on the back wall, all storage is contained in the seven cabinets and five drawers. Starting left to right, the small corner drawer beside the stove functions as our olive oil drawer. It holds a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and a jar of salt. Most utensils stay on the counter, so this drawer didn’t need to be deep—having the oil near the stove in a cool, dark spot is convenient.
Below that is a skinny cabinet that stores plastic cutting boards, a single cookie sheet, a muffin tin, and wire cooling racks. We pared down bakeware before the move—multiple muffin tins and a cupcake carrier were unnecessary clutter. We use the warming drawer under the stove for shallow pans and our griddle.
On the other side of the stove we keep most pots and pans. We already owned a wire shelf rack that helps stack saucepans, and we added a back-of-door lid holder to corral lids so everything is easy to grab without making a racket. These small additions transformed crowded stacks into an orderly, accessible system.
Our cookware selection is compact but covers what we need. We protect the cabinet bases and shelves with clear, non-adhesive liners to keep the fresh paint looking clean. The largest drawer above the pots cabinet houses flatware and a few large knives in an expandable bamboo organizer we’ve used for years. It adjusts to fit the narrower drawer and keeps utensils tidy.
The sink cabinet holds cleaning supplies, sponges, dishcloths, and trash bags. We used a mix of leftover bins and freestanding wire shelves to prevent everything from becoming one big pile—simple, low-cost solutions that keep essentials visible and reachable.
We lucked into two back-of-the-door wire organizers that were already installed when we moved in. They’re very useful for small items and we reinstalled them after repainting the cabinets. They don’t hang over the top of the door, so they stay hidden from the front view.
Across the back wall you’ll also find the dishwasher and the floating shelves we built. The shelves are about three feet long and keep things like a strainer, a measuring cup, and a tea kettle within easy reach above the stove. Plates and glass mixing bowls live on the opposite side of that area, moved closer to the work triangle for convenience.
Turning 90 degrees to the right, there’s a short run of cabinets that are really one large cabinet with three doors. The narrow drawers above have some wasted space between them, so we used bins and boxes to create zones. Foil, wax paper, and sandwich bags go on the left; knives and measuring spoons in the middle, organized in small plastic bins; and a compact junk drawer on the right holds everyday odds and ends in bamboo boxes. These small containers help make narrow or oddly shaped drawers useful.
Our previous junk drawer was much larger, so the new one feels compressed. We didn’t eliminate needs so much as relocate some functions: batteries and superglue are now in the tool drawers, stamps and address items are in a dresser by the front door, and other items were pared down. The result is a more intentional distribution of small supplies throughout the house.
The three cabinets featured in our cabinet-painting post hold white Ikea bins that fit nearly perfectly and create clear organization zones: overflow snacks, glass food storage, and spices with oils and vinegars. The upper shelf stores additional glassware and a baking bin. The cabinet extends into a corner behind the dishwasher, but it’s awkward to access, so it currently holds spare empty bins—because we have a lot of those.
You’ve asked about other storage areas too—like the bathroom sink cabinet, the linen closet outside the bathroom, and the HVAC closet next to the stove. We’ll likely share how we organized those spaces soon. One thing is certain: there will be bins involved.
P.S. You can follow our full Florida house renovation, including the bedroom, kids’ rooms, family room/office, bathroom, and outdoor updates, in our project category.